Chapter 9: Murder and Intrigue

Later on that night, Valen and Inigo got themselves a drink each at the Windpeak Inn and sat down at a table to discuss Valen's age. "You said you were over 200 years old" Inigo recalled. "I had no idea. You look young…really young. And you fight with the vigor of a very young man, yet you claim to have lived for hundreds of years. You're not a vampire, are you?"

Valen tapped Inigo on the shin lightly but somewhat frantically. "Don't say that word around here!" he whispered. "No, that's not what I am. I am mortal, same as you and everyone else here"

"Then how are you so old?"

"Elves live longer than Men. Surely, you must know that. We age very slowly compared to humans. What of it?"

"But even for an elf, that is very old. Yet you show no signs of it"

Valen sighed. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"I would rather not. If I came back as a chicken, I don't know how I would be able to get on with my life. I could run from a sabre cat, I suppose."

Valen laughed at Inigo's funny remark. "I'm sure chickens don't have such a bad life"

"Oh, but they do! Always clucking about, watching everyone, judging everything, having to exchange information for feed. Terrible!"

"A fate worse than death" Valen commented in a light-hearted manner. "Precisely?"

"What would you rather come back as?"

"Me, of course! But a different me. A me who makes better choices and always gets the ladies. What would you come back as?"

"Ah, see, that's the thing. It seems I have already beaten you to it"

"Really?"

"Yes." Valen confirmed. "Physically, I'm as young as I look. I am seventeen years old. But on the inside, I am extremely old. Ancient, even"

"How old?"

"Over a thousand years"

"No way!"

"I was born in the year 2E 582 – the end of the Second Era, and before Tiber Septim ascended to the Imperial Throne. I was a Dunmer then, just like I am now. And my name was Adrenor, of House Telvanni. Now before I continue, let me tell you a little bit about my House"

"Okay"

"House Telvanni is one of the Five Great Houses of Morrowind, and by far, one of the most respected. Unlike the other Houses, we have little interest in politics and instead prefer to study magic in order to become powerful wizards and increase our understanding of the magical forces that control our world. The Lords of my house are immensely powerful mages, and boast a deep understanding of magic few men possess. And I was fortunate enough to be born into their house"

"That's amazing! So you were a powerful wizard, yes?"

"No" Valen shook his head. "I mean, yes, but not at first. I may have been a Telvanni, but unlike most of my kind, I had…issues preventing me from becoming as great as them."

"What do you mean?"

"My mother…she was not a good person…even for a Telvanni. She was a Skooma addict, like you used to be. Most of my kind would never touch the stuff, but it seemed she could not keep her hands off it. And because of her addiction, I was born disabled. Mentally and physically."

"By the Gods…"

"It gets worse" Valen added. "Because of my disabilities, I was treated with severe prejudice by my own people who abused me and treated me like I was no better than guar dung. If my name wasn't Telvanni, they would have thrown me to the beasts and let them tear me apart"

"That's horrible! I am sorry to hear that, my friend"

"Although money came second to magic, my family were very rich. Rich enough to buy slaves and have them work on their lands to bring them wealth. Argonians, mostly. But we also had humans, Orcs and even Khajiit working on our plantations. Despite being a Dunmer and a Telvanni, I wasn't treated much better than they were because of my disabilities. I was never allowed the privilege of owning a slave, nor did I want it. The abuse I had to endure made me sympathise with them, yet there was little I could do to prevent my own suffering, let alone theirs."

"You family owned slaves?"

"Yes. For economic purposes, but power was the real reason. They were obsessed with it. Not just magical power, but physical power, too. They loved to dominate other life forms and lord over people. Especially those who weren't Dunmer. In Morrowind, humans, Orcs, Argonians and just about anyone who isn't an elf is widely considered to be no better than animals. However, only a small minority of us own slaves. Most of my kind are too poor to have people working for them against their will for little to no pay"

"So, what happened?"

"I met a woman. Dunmer, like me. And she was a Telvanni, as well. But she was different. Her name was Lilith, and she was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. Not to mention powerful. Very powerful indeed. Let's just say she was part of an organisation of men and women with a very unique and rare gift. The kind of gift that made them lions among sheep. And she came to me to make me one of them one night while my parents were gone. I invited her in, against my parents wished and asked her to give it to me quickly. She then proceeded to embrace me, and then everything went black."

"What did she do to you, exactly?"

Valen leaned in and whispered "She's a vampire"

"Oh…oh, I see"

"And not just any kind, either. The group she was a part of were called the Scions of the Blood Matron. Having been sired directly by Lamae Bal herself, they were far more powerful than any ordinary creature of the night"

"Who is Lamae Bal?"

"The first vampire to ever live" said Valen. "It all started with her. A Nedic woman from the First Era, and a priestess of Arkay. Not a willing subject. Molag Bal disguised himself as a mortal man and brutally ravaged her to spite the Divine of Death. She was then found by a group of nomads, who burned her on a pyre once they saw she was stricken with a terrible disease. But the flames didn't even touch her, and she awoke shortly afterwards as a full-fledged vampire, raped them and slaughtered them."

"Gods…" said Inigo.

"The moment she became infected by Molag Bal, Arkay turned his back on her. She then rejected him and travelled across Tamriel to share her gift with those who wished to receive it. And thus, the Scions of the Blood Matron were born"

"And what did you use your powers for, exactly?"

"To punish those who harmed others for no good reason. And I was not the only one. Like me, Lilith was not a fan of slavery at all. Though her reasons were somewhat different to mine."

"How so?"

"Well, like most of us Telvanni, she did own slaves. But that was years before she became a Scion and met me. She was taken from her home by members of an infamous cult that worshipped Molag Bal called the Order of the Black Worm. Mannimarco was their leader. A High Elf and a powerful necromancer they called "The King of Worms". He sacrificed Lilith's soul to the God of Schemes, and while she was trapped there, she saw the countless souls imprisoned in Coldharbour and witnessed with her own eyes the unimaginable cruelty they lived under. Luckily for her, she met two people who helped her escape and ever since, she has been known as "The Vestige" and she never wanted anything to do with slavery ever again" Valen explained.

"So you both know what it's like to be slaves, even though you and Lilith are members of House Telvanni?"

"Precisely!" the Dunmer confirmed. "And ever since we became vampires, we used our gifts to fight slavery and other injustices that plagued our homeland. We may have been unholy creatures of the night, but we still had honour. We didn't feed on innocent people and we used our powers for good. I lived a very long time, and learned many things about life. Learned how to fight, how to sneak and became a powerful mage. But then, during the Oblivion Crisis, a Dremora mage incinerated me with a fireball. Then about nearly two decades ago, I was reborn, on the island of Vvardenfell in Morrowind. I may have died, but everything I learned stayed with me after I was born again. But due to the constant eruptions of the Red Mountain, I had to be sent to Skyrim. Specifically, the Orphanage in Riften - Honorhall. I was the only Dunmer to be raised there. My birth parents didn't make it, apparently. The Red Mountain killed them. I never knew my father, and the closest thing I had to a mother was a woman named Constance Michel."

"I'm sorry to hear that, my friend. At least Constance was there for you, yes?"

"She was an Imperial, and I'll admit I'm weary of most Imperials because their soldiers left us during the Oblivion Crisis when we needed them the most. But for Constance, I make an exception. She wasn't a soldier or a politician. Just a woman from Cyrodiil who came to Skyrim to look after children who had lost their parents." Valen recalled. "But Constance was not the headmistress. Not until a few years ago. Before then, Grelod the Kind was in charge, but don't let the name fool you. She was anything but kind. She was very abusive and cruel, just like my so-called "mother" from my past life. She would give us an extra beating every time we shirked our duties, she only fed us once a day, refused to let us even speak of adoption and worst of all; sometimes she would lock us in "The Room"."

"The Room?"

"It was small, not much bigger than a broom closet, and it had shackles on the wall and a couple of buckets to relieve ourselves. That old hag would put us in the shackles and leave us in there with only the foul stench of our waste to accompany us."

"Gods, that's horrible!"

"Yes, it is. A real tyrant, she was. I was the only kid who wasn't afraid of her, and I did my best to protect the other kids. I took most of the punishments so they wouldn't have to. But there was only so much I could do"

"How did Constance take over?"

"I killed Grelod" Valen answered. "But not at first. I tried to reason with her, but that old crone wouldn't listen to me no matter what I told her. She had no heart, no soul. So I snuck into her room one night and quietly casted a Bound Dagger spell, then placed my hand on her mouth and slit her throat. I then changed her sheets because they were covered in her blood and smuggled her corpse out of Riften, along with her bloody sheets, and dumped them both in Lake Honrich where no one could find them"

"And even now, her body is still in the Lake?"

"Precisely! Her sudden disappearance did raise a few questions at first, but no one seemed to know where she went. Nobody cared, either, because nobody liked her. If anything, everyone in Riften was relieved she was gone. Me and my fellow orphans, especially. I was twelve years old back then, and I've been protecting Riften ever since. Fortunately, I rarely ever had to kill anyone who deserved it. Murder is very uncommon in my city, so I mostly had to deal with petty thieves and muggers. I would beat them up and take back what they stole, but I wouldn't kill them because they were not a real threat to honest people trying to make an honest living. As bad as the Thieves Guild is, they're not killers."

Meanwhile, just southwest of Dawnstar, Astrid managed to find Snowpoint Beacon. But when she searched the tower for any signs her target had been there, she found nothing. Except two dead bandits. They could have been killed by anyone, but that was all the proof Astrid needed. So she walked across the scaffolding connecting the tower to the mountain and trudged through the thick snow that covered the ground until she reached the top and found a cabin.

She approached the front door and tried to open it, but it was locked tight. Fortunately for Astrid, she was a skilled lock picker, and the cabin wasn't the first place she had broken into. However, the lock was tough to pick even for her and it wasn't until she had broken nine picks that she managed to unlock the door. Astrid opened it slightly, and as quietly as she could, hoping the owner didn't see nor hear her. No sign of them. So she opened it a little bit more and snuck into the cabin.

Like Valen and Inigo when they first entered Langley's house, the first thing she noticed was the paintings of the blue Khajiit on the wall. "Interesting" she thought. "I've never seen a Khajiit with blue fur before. He must be the one Maven told me about." but she put that thought aside and focused on the task at hand. She was here for information, not an art lesson.

Fortunately for her, the old man who painted those pictures was asleep in his bed. She snuck over to him and drew her Blade of Woe, and when she got close enough to him, she pressed it against his throat and told him to "Wake up, old man!"

Langley opened his eyes to find the woman standing over him, holding a dagger to his throat. "What is the meaning of this?!" he asked. "How did you get in here?!"

Astrid put her finger to his lips to silence him. "Quiet!" she hushed him. "I'll be asking the questions, old man. You will speak only when spoken to. Do you understand?"

Fearing for his life, Langley did as he was told and kept his mouth shut. Astrid then asked him about the paintings. "You know that blue Khajiit in the paintings, don't you?"

"Yes" she said. "You're not going to hurt him, are you?"

"No. He is not my target." Astrid answered. "And no, before you ask, you're not either. Lucky for you. It's his friend I'm after. A Dark Elf named Valen Telvanni. Do you know where he is?"

"No, and even if I did know, I still wouldn't tell you"

"Not even if I slit your throat?"

"Then I wouldn't be able to talk, so no"

"Don't get smart with me!" Astrid warned him. "Not unless you want me to cut you to pieces!"

"I won't lie" Langley prefaced. "I don't like that elf very much. He's insufferable, rude and a complete idiot! The only reason I wouldn't tell you where he is if I knew is because he's Inigo's friend. So for Inigo's sake, you will have to kill me before I tell you anything"

"Inigo? The blue Khajiit in your paintings?"

"Yes, that's him. That's his name. Inigo. I don't know what he sees in Valen. They barely know each other, but Inigo convinced me he can be trusted."

Astrid paused for a moment and thought about what to do next, then let go of Langley and sheathed her dagger away. Langley was of course relieved that she did, but only for a moment before Astrid said "I guess I'll have to beat it out of you!" and then proceeded to grab Langley by his robes and punch him in the face with her right fist as hard as she could.

"Ow!" Langley said. He caressed his cheek where she struck him and Astrid asked him again "Where is he?"

"I told you, I don't know!"

Astrid punched him again. "Where is he?!"

"What do you want me to say?!"

Astrid wasn't convinced he genuinely didn't know where her target was. She was convinced he was just trying to protect the elf, so she continued to beat him up until he talked. She punched him over and over again, kicked him, kneed him in the gut, hit him in the back with her elbow, but he still kept telling her he didn't know. Every blow caused him to yell in agony, so it wasn't that she wasn't trying hard enough. She's a trained killer, he's just a feeble old mage who lives on a mountain all by himself. But Langley was a stubborn old codger, and Inigo would be furious with him if he revealed the whereabouts of the blue Khajiit's friend to the assassin.

And to make matters worse for Astrid, while she was beating him, Langley casted a spell. However, it didn't seem to do anything.

Astrid saw him cast the spell and scoffed "Your magic won't save you, wizard!"

"No" Langley agreed. "But they will"

Astrid looked confused. "They? Who is they?! What did you do?!"

"I called for help"

Back in Dawnstar, Inigo felt his mind vibrate yet again. "Agh!" he groaned in pain. "My mind is vibrating again!"

"Langley!"

"He's in trouble. I saw him being beaten up by a woman in a black and red outfit! We must hurry!"

Inigo got up out of his seat and ran for the door. "Wait!" Valen called. "I can get us there faster than any horse. Come here!"

Inigo approached Valen and the latter put his left arm around the former, then used his right hand to teleport himself and his feline friend to Langley's house. They appeared just outside the old man's door and Valen rammed it down with his shoulder, showing a surprising amount of upper body strength and giving Astrid quite a fright. She wasn't expecting neither the elf nor the cat to show up so quickly. She drew her Blade of Woe, grabbed Langley and used him as a shield to protect herself.

Holding him firmly from behind with one arm and her dagger in her right, she held it to his throat once again and asked Valen "How did you get here so quickly?!"

She looked at Langley and asked in an accusatory manner "You summoned them?!"

"Kind of"

"What do you mean "kind of"? You did or you didn't?"

Before Langley could answer, Valen told her to "Let him go!"

Astrid turned her attention back to the elf. "You. You're the one I must kill!"

"Is that so?" Valen asked. "Wait…I know that uniform…you're from the Dark Brotherhood, aren't you?!"

"What of it, elf?" Astrid spat. She said "elf" like it was an insult. "Then someone paid you to kill me, didn't they? Someone from Riften, I bet. But never mind that, let Langley go! Now! I'm the one you want"

"I'd do as he says if I were you" Langley encouraged her, but Astrid silenced him by telling him to "Shut up!"

She pressed her dagger against his throat and said "He may not be my target, but that doesn't mean I won't kill him if I have to! Come anywhere near me and I'll slit his throat!"

"You do that, and I'll put an arrow in your face!" Inigo interjected. Both he and Valen had had their weapons drawn since they came to Langley's rescue – the former had his bow drawn and arrow pointing in Astrid's (and Langley's) direction, but he didn't have a clear shot so he kept tight hold of his arrow until he did. Valen gripped his dagger firmly in his right hand and added "and that's if his arrow reaches you before I do! And yes, I'm that quick! Now, I won't tell you again; let him go, or one of us will kill you!"

Astrid thought about it for a brief moment, then sighed. "Fine!" she agreed. But before she let go of Langley, she added "On one condition"

Valen and Inigo looked at each for a moment, then the former looked back at Astrid and prompted her by saying "Go on"

"You will stay your weapons and let me leave this place alive. Got it?"

Valen paused for a moment. "Wait a minute…don't you want me dead?"

"I'll let you live for now, but I'll be back to finish the job sooner or later. Mark my words"

"Fine, but no tricks, or I'll have your head!"

At these words, Valen lowered his dagger, albeit reluctantly. Inigo looked at him and asked "My friend, all due respect, but have you lost your mind? Letting her go?"

"Just trust me, Inigo. And put your bow down"

Inigo sighed and did as he was told. Astrid finally released Langley and withdrew her blade. Once again, the old man sighed deeply in relief as soon as she did, to the surprise of no one. But then, thinking now would be a good time to strike at Valen while his guard was down, she quickly drew her dagger and attempted to pounce on Valen, but the elf saw it coming and sidestepped out of the way, just barely avoiding her and causing her to knock over the cooking pot near the fireplace.

The pot falling into the fire caused it to become out of control and spread across the house – which was made entirely of wood and thatch, making the house burn quicker. "What have you done?!" Valen chided Astrid who fleed from the house before the fire could burn her. The former used his magic to keep Inigo and Langley safe from the flames and allow them to escape. They both managed to get outside and Valen's spell ended. Inigo looked back at the burning house and cried "Valen, noooo!" but it was too late.

Inigo tried to run back to save his friend, but Langley grabbed and held him back. "He's gone, Inigo! He's gone!" Langley told him. Meanwhile, Astrid was watching from a further distance away. She stood there for a moment and bore witness to the burning house with a sinister grin on her face that remained hidden behind her mask. Maven warned her that Valen was dangerous and quite capable of defending himself, but it seemed he wasn't so dangerous after all. While Inigo cried out for his friend, she stood there smiling and even started cackling like the sadistic wench she was. The longer she laughed, the louder her laughter got.

But then the house exploded, and her laughter stopped when she saw a raging Dark Elf came sprinting out of it towards her. He was on fire, but the flames didn't burn him because he was using the power of his ancestors to cloak his body in fire. It was one of the perks of being a Dunmer. Fire cannot harm Valen because he was born in it. Inigo stopped crying the moment he saw Valen again, and a big smile of relief appeared on his face. Astrid, on the other hand, panicked when she saw the Dunmer charging at her as fast as he could, with a look of pure, unadulterated fury on his face. He looked as though Astrid might as well have killed his whole family. She may not have, but she did try to kill him and almost murdered his friends, so Valen thought that was close enough.

"I'll kill you, you stupid, sadistic, murdering whore!" he bellowed. Astrid didn't hesitate to mount Shadowmere and spur him on away from the furious Mer as fast as her horse could carry her. Valen and Inigo left their horses tied to a couple of posts outside the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar, so he had to chase her on foot. He was very quick on his feet, but he was not faster than a horse. Not even close. And Shadowmere was no ordinary steed, either.

But he didn't need to outrun Astrid's mount to catch up to her. He hit Shadowmere with a fireball, right on his behind, causing him to whinny in pain and fling Astrid off his back and into the air.

She landed in the snow. Fortunately for her, it was thick enough, and soft enough to cushion her landing. Shadowmere was no ordinary horse, and it would take more than one fireball to kill him, but there was no way he was sticking around to be hit by another, so he ran away and left his rider behind.

So Astrid had to pick herself up and run away as fast as she could on foot from the flaming elf. He casted fireballs at her with the fury of a god, but lucky for the Dark Brotherhood leader, the wind was strong, and it caused Valen to miss his target over and over again. Even so, Astrid had to keep moving, for there's still a chance she could get roasted alive.

Valen's ancestral flames then wore off, but his rage did not. He kept casting fireballs at the assassin, and still kept missing. But then, just as he was about to cast another fireball, he was suddenly struck in the face by the back of a giant hand and sent flying.

For a moment or two, Valen was stunned by the sheer force behind the blow, and his vision was blurred and distorted. But when he came back to his senses, he saw that the hand that struck him wasn't a man's hand, but something much bigger. And hairier.

A werewolf! A huge, black werewolf with a thick coat of fur and long, razor-sharp claws and teeth was standing right before him, growling ferociously and approaching him one step at a time. Valen quickly got back up on his feet and drew his sword and shield. "Come on, you monster!" he boldly proclaimed.

The beast then let out a huge, angry roar and lunged itself at Valen in an attempt to bring its' claws down on his face, but the elf sidestepped to the left, just missing its' attack and slashing it across the belly with his sword. But the wound he left on the werewolf healed almost instantly right before his eyes.

The beast then attempted to hit Valen again with the back of its hand. Valen managed to block it with his iron shield, but the beast was immensely strong, and it knocked the elf's shield out of his hand, then swung its' left claw at Valen, but he used his sword to parry the blow. Now Valen had to use his sword, not just as a weapon against the beast, but as a primary form of defence against its attacks.

The monster continued to growl at the Dunmer and proceeded to swing its right claw at Valen, then its left again, but Valen successfully parried both attacks and sliced him again. He knew his sword had no effect on the werewolf because it was made of steel, not silver. But instead of standing there and watching it heal rapidly again, it was now his turn to go on the offensive. He swung his sword from left to right, then attempted a downward slash on the beast, but it caught Valen's sword-arm in its left hand. It gripped him firmly by the wrist and gave another loud, blood-curdling roar, but Valen was not afraid. He kicked it in the gut with enough force to make it let go of him, the wolf tried to slash him across the face with its right claw, but the elf ducked and struck him again – this time across the chest.

But all that seemed to was make it angry, even angrier than it already was. It let out another ferocious growl and sunk its teeth into Valen's neck. The brave Mer did not have time to get out the way or do anything to protect himself from its bite. He yelled in pain as its incredibly sharp canines pierced his flesh. It seemed as though the monster had won this fight.

But then, just as all hope appeared to be lost, an ebony arrow landed right in the werewolf's back, causing it to let go of Valen – who fell to the ground - and roar in pain as well as anger. It turned to see Inigo standing some distance away with his bow drawn and an arrow aiming directly at it. The beast glared at him furiously for a brief moment, but then Astrid returned, riding on the back of Shadowmere once again after she managed to get her steed back, and called out "Arnbjorn, let's go!"

And the werewolf, who apparently had a name, ran away on four legs. The assassin then spurred her horse on at the same time and in the same direction. Inigo and Langley both chased them off, the former shooting at them with arrows and the latter casting powerful destruction spells, but neither of them managed to hit their targets and Astrid managed to get away on her steed along with the werewolf she called "Arnbjorn"

"Valen, my friend!" Inigo cried but his words seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Langley managed to catch up with him and state the obvious by saying "He's been bitten by a werewolf. Come, we must get him to Dawnstar immediately!"

Inigo then placed his bow on his back and picked Valen up, then carried him off to Dawnstar with Langley close behind him.